FNS Documents & Resources

This memorandum provides guidance on meals served to preschoolers when they are in the same service area at the same time as grade K-5 students, and it includes Questions and Answers. Additional guidance on the National School Lunch Program’s and School Breakfast Program’s infant and preschool meal pattern requirements will be issued soon.

This memorandum, which was in effect from May 10, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018, outlined a transition period for implementing the updated CACFP meal patterns and the updated infant and preschool meal patterns in the national school lunch and school breakfast programs.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on meal service requirements in the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option.

Offer versus Serve is a provision in the NSLP and School Breakfast Program that allows students to decline some of the food offered. The goals of OVS are to reduce food waste in the school meals programs while permitting students to decline foods they do not intend to eat. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the final rule, Nutrition Labeling of Standard Menu Items in Restaurants and Similar Retail Food Establishments in the Federal Register (79 FR 71155) on Dec. 1, 2014.

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on meal service requirements in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program’s (NSLP) Seamless Summer Option (SSO).

These materials were compiled to assist companies who are developing or revising certification of compliance/menu planning software for USDA to approve for use in certification of compliance with the National School Lunch Program meal pattern requirements.

On July 16, 2012, FNS issued memorandum SP 38-2012, which allowed Residential Child Care Institutions, with state agency approval, to serve the National School Lunch Program meal pattern in effect for the highest age/grade group served to all residential students.